Today I find myself wandering around Saxony, just to the southwest of Chemnitz in the town of Neukirchen (Erzgebirge).
It won’t take you too long to see everything here, but there are small guesthouses and a number of private rooms for rent in case you want to stay and chill out for the night.
Not one to let moss grow under my feet, I’m heading straight for the Wasserschloss Klaffenbach, a Water Castle that’s also a hotel. This entire castle complex is more than just a 16th century Renaissance style castle that’s been converted to receive overnight guests. It sits right near a golf course, in case you like the links; and it has a bunch of craft studios — like a Silversmith and where you can learn the art of candle making.
From here you can take the castle’s hiking trails out along Neukirchen’s countryside. One walking route is the Eisenweg, or Iron Trail — where you can educate yourself on the area’s mining history.
While you’re out & about, you’ll also see a Memorial Plaque (at Markersdorfer Straße) for seven resistance fighters, and there’s another one (this time in the village of Adorf) for eight people who perished here on a Death March during World War II.
The last memorial you should see is the Blood Cross, in memory of a Miller who was murdered here in the 15th century. In all fairness, I should tell you this isn’t the original cross — that one has been “missing” since the early 20th century.
That was just a nice way of saying that it was stolen. Poor guy, first he’s a homicide victim — then he’s a victim of theft.
As shocking as that sounds, Neukirchen is a safe town — where you can enjoy carriage rides, or rent a bike to take along the many biking paths. The latter isn’t recommended when come winter, but you got three seasons outta the year to choose from.
Forget the biking… I’ll thake that cold winter night in a castle any day. ;-)
